Indians are groaning over what they see as yet another foreign depiction of their nation, fouliness, corruption and impoverished.
Today slum dwellers make up 60% of Mumbai's population, that is approximately 7 million people. The eventually spread into the areas neighboring Byculla, such as: Mahim Creek, Parel, Dadar and Matunga and whereever else they can find space, even in roads. The conditions in the slums are terrible. Slum inhabitants constantly have to deal with issues such as, constant migration, lack of water, no sewage or solid waste facilities, lack of public transit, pollution and housing shortages. Infant mortality is as high as it is in rural India where there are no amenities.
Slumdog Millionaire wooed the people around the world, yet it failed to make its mark when it released in the country where its plot is set. What went wrong? Sounds absurd, but it's true that the movie which got hold of 4 Golden Globe Awards recently, has got mixed reviews by Indian viewers. As people came out of the cinema halls after watching the first day release on 23 January in India, they were not-so-happy about the depiction of the nation where only escalating dirtiness, corruption and impoverished was shown. I agree that due to our roots from India we feel that showing negative true depiction hurt us pretty deeply, however glorifying the success of unknown to known is also true story about sucees of Indian around the globe.
gruel problems have been shown, not its progress. Slumdog Millionaire, set in Mumbai, is a story about an orphan rogue, Jamal Malik, who lives in slums of the commercial capital of India; facing all the hardships. One day, he wins a fortune on a game show and gets hold of his childhood love. The movie is a clever concoction of Indian and foreign talent, and English and Hindi dialogues. Based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, Slumdog Millionaire is directed by Briton Danny Boylem.
"If anyone has any objection to the depiction of poverty in the film they should first come forward and take initiative to remove it. Only talking won't help! Scams like Satyam computers are doing a better job of giving a bad name to our country than the depiction of poverty in a film. We should not shy away from showing the truth. We can not shut our eyes from the fact that a large section of our country continues to live abject poverty which can not be removed by not being shown in a film. We need to work on grass-root level to remove this problem
Directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan
Written by Simon Beaufoy based on the novel by Vikas Swarup
YOUTUBE: watch the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q
Cast
Dev Patel ... Jamal Malik
Freida Pinto ... Latika
Anil Kapoor ... Prem Kumar
Irrfan Khan ... Police Inspector
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar ... Youngest Jamal
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail ... Youngest Salim
Rubiana Ali ... Youngest Latika
Sanchita Choudhary ... Jamal’s Mother
Tanay Hemant Chheda ... Middle Jamal
Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala ... Middle Salim
Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar ... Middle Latika
Madhur Mittal ... Older Salim
Ankur Vikal ... Maman
Mahesh Manjrekar ... Javed
We need to stop taking themselves so darn seriously. Slumdog does more to bring India and Indians into the hearts and minds of Westerners than the propaganda film you folks seem to want. Whether it’s a story about the poor or the rich or the middle class is not what’s important to us. Movies that win awards and are beloved by world audiences are honest and uplifting and real. That’s Slumdog. f you think that Westerners are too focused on India’s poverty, etc. then you lack perspective and exposure to Western films. Western filmmakers focus a very harsh lens on their own society too.
I suggest you watch “Million Dollar Baby,” the American film which won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2004. While working as a waitress, Hilary Swank’s character, who is a dirt-poor, struggling athlete, sneaks a leftover from her customer’s dinner plate and puts it in her pocket, saying “It’s for my dog,” when another customer notices. But the audience knows she doesn’t have dog. She’s eating other people’s scraps just to survive. She’s an American, living and working and struggling to make something of herself in America. But you never hear Americans complaining that the film shows the “dirty underbelly” of American life. To say that would be to miss the point and the spirit of this beautiful film. What’s worse is that this kind of comment would disrespect real-life Americans who live or have lived an equally harsh existence.
It’s Bollywood, not Hollywood, that ceaselessly indulges in feel-good fantasy films with two-dimensional characters that never seem to live the real India…the India I see and experience whenever I visit. This is not what Western audiences want out of Indian films or American films or any film. And this is why the overwhelming majority of Bollywood films are not likely to be successful here.
“Slumdog Millionaire” continued its unlikely rise from low-budget underdog to the highest Hollywood heights, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for best cast of a motion picture in LA on Jan 25, 2009. The prize, which is tantamount to best picture from the guild, follows top honors at the Golden Globes and the Producers Guild Awards. I am sure that next month at Gala Ceremony the picture will bag atleast 5 awards.
So please, get over yourselves! Get comfortable with reality. The sooner we do, the faster we will build confidence and respect to the people who needs our help. Its easy to point out faults in other societies, rather than look under your own rug! India needs to have shared vision to fight poverty and inequity of wealth in our society and community. Let's work together for better India and its great culture and history!
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